🍼 Spring has sprung, and with it the symbolization of birth and renewal. What better time than now to discuss the joys of consumerism that come along with welcoming a baby into your family or inner circle? It’s a minefield of navigating the “must-haves,” Instagram ads, and influencers hawking products. Here’s the upside: We have insider tips from a mom with an 8-month-old right here in our EnterpriseAM newsroom.

Functional things any new mom needs

Here’s a crash course list of things a new mom actually needs, in our humble opinion, and where to find them locally — tried and tested.

#1- A new mom will never have enough onesies. Ever. Changes are so frequent between drooling, blowouts, and spills. Buy a whole bunch: short sleeves for layering, long sleeves because it’s either cold or people are blasting ACs, and please, for the love of God… buy them with zippers. There are a bunch of local brands making very high-quality clothing, so you can also support homegrown businesses.

PRICE TAG- EGP 800 upwards to EGP 1.3k depending on the brand.

WHERE TO GET IT- So Small, Kozie, Plush, Tippy Toes, Uncommon Mama, Aspom, Yoya and Bunny, The Grey Monkey, and Oliv.

#2- Blankies, blankies, and more blankies. Something we didn’t anticipate was how many baby blankets we needed — for naps, for wrapping the baby up in a swaddle, for quick exits to layer up, and for padding on the floor. Fluffy ones are great for comfort, and the thinner ones are good for swaddling.

PRICE TAG- EGP 500-1k depending on material and thickness.

WHERE TO GET IT- Mini Binis has great ones.

#3- A night light, a diaper caddy, and the Frida Baby pacifier syringe: These are just some items we couldn’t live without as a new mom. A great night light eases those middle-of-the-night diaper changes and eliminates the dark fumble for the pacifier that keeps dropping out of the baby's mouth. A diaper caddy is essential for toting around from room to room in those early days, and if your baby needs to take meds for any reason? That pacifier syringe is essential.

PRICE TAG- Night lights retail between EGP 3-5k, diaper caddies between EGP 800-1K, and the syringe is for EGP 1.5k.

WHERE TO GET IT- The Baby Garage for the Tommee Tippee Dreammaker night light and sound machine combo and the Frida Baby pacifier syringe. Hedeya for the diaper caddy.

#4- Help. Honestly, one of the easiest and best gifts you can give a new mom is just to entertain the baby while she showers or deliver her a delicious home-cooked meal.

PRICE TAG- In the infamous words of J-Lo… “love don’t cost a thing.”

Gifts she will cherish

We understand that not everyone likes giving the “functional” gift, and will prefer something a bit more nostalgic and ceremonial. Here are items we either have or wish we did.

#1- A baby scrapbook: If it’s mom’s first child, then this will hit the mark even more… because let’s be honest, she won’t have the time or headspace to do this with baby #2. We managed to fill out our book month-to-month with milestones and memories but still haven’t gotten around to printing out the 85 photos we have piling up in the “baby book” album.

PRICE TAG- EGP 1.5k

WHERE TO GET IT- Paper Jam.

#2- Personalized necklace or keychain: We don’t take ours off — it’s that meaningful. Stay true to our roots with a calligraphy-based design for an added touch of art and beauty.

PRICE TAG- EGP 2.5k and upwards, depending on the design and material.

WHERE TO GET IT- Khat by Hoda Ismail and Sandbox.

#3- A newborn photo session: Admittedly, this is something we didn’t get around to doing as a new mom, and we wish someone had just organized it for us. Photos are keepsakes she will treasure forever, and everyone knows Mom is the least featured person in all baby photos, so a whole photo session is priceless.

WHERE TO GET IT- Baby Bliss Photography by Heba Fattouh, Tetyana Photography, and Yasmine Thabet Photography all come recommended.

Honorable mentions

A short list of the honorable mentions that made our life way easier:

#1- A baby food maker: If you want to avoid store-bought purees, but don’t want a lot of hassle, then cut down on a multi-step process by investing in a machine that steams and purees in one go.

PRICE TAG- On average, EGP 13k and upwards, depending on brand.

WHERE TO GET IT- We use the Baby Breeza Food Maker, found on The Baby Garage.

#2- An electric swing: It’s a Godsend for getting anything done while the baby is awake.

PRICE TAG- On average, EGP 4k and upwards, depending on brand.

WHERE TO GET IT- We use the Kinderkraft Lumi 2 Electric Swing, but the Kinderkraft Luli also comes recommended.

#3- A yoga ball: Trust us, it makes the endless bouncing and rocking a lot easier than a rocking chair — plus you can control the velocity. Make sure to pick the right size for your weight and height for comfort.

PRICE TAG- On average, EGP 1.2k.

WHERE TO GET IT- We use the Domyos size 2 ball, found on Decathlon.

Things that gathered dust

We prepared, we purchased, and … we did not use. It seems no nursery is complete without these items, but they are not used to this day. To be clear, we are not recommending you forgo purchasing — to each their own.

#1- The crib: It’s eight months later, and the baby is sleeping in our bed and slapping our faces awake.

#2- The changing table: We’ve changed diapers on literally every surface except this one.

#3- Every single baby hat and baby mittens in the apartment: She just refuses to wear them.

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